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After church on Sunday, Rebekah and the five kids joined Juanita and me at Yang Ming Buffet on Edmonton’s north side. Last spring, Ansel was quite reluctant to go to a Chinese buffet with its “weird” food. He declared he’d rather have a “cheeseburger” somewhere. Eight-year-old’s don’t get the final say in where a family goes for lunch. He discovered that the buffet had “normal” food like onion rings, French fries, roast beef, strawberries and perogies as well as a variety of Dim Sum, sushi, and other stuff. He was not nearly as reluctant to come along this time.
After lunch we parted company.
Rebekah and the kids went home.
Juanita and I set off on a quest to buy some work boots. The stitching on the cheap ones I usually buy fell apart in just over a year. We went to the Red Wing store in Sherwood Park. They have a high-tech scanner for sizing boots. I asked and they said it was good for in soles but useless for boots. She measured my feet as a ten with the traditional measuring device. Usually, I take an eleven. She said that she had just shipped the last pair of ten’s to Grande Prairie and had no ten and a halves. She checked the inventory at the South Edmonton Common store. I went there. The ten and a halves were too small. I bought a pair of elevens that fit fine. They have a high-tech lacing system that undoes instantly and does up in a couple of seconds. The cables look frail but are guaranteed for life.
When the bill came in from the credit card company it had notes that the buffet and the boots “can be financed.” That is scary. I used credit cards tactically in my entrepreneurial youth but after digging our way out early in our marriage we only charge what we can pay off each month. It must be stressful to have to live on your cards like I hear many are doing these days.
We had a low-key celebration of Rebekah’s 44th birthday on Tuesday and a bit more elaborate celebration of Odelia’s 4th birthday on Saturday. Deborah, Ernie, Sasha and Kohen came from Meadow Lake to help celebrate and to share Thanksgiving dinner.
Saturday evening, we had low-cost tickets from the union for the Galaxy Land amusement park in West Edmonton Mall. I went on the teacup ride and the train with Odelia, Juanita went on the fuzzy animal ride with her. Ernie, Deborah, Ansel and I battered each other in the bumper cars, and I went on a modern-day Octopus with Rebekah. That was okay except for the odd, alarming clunk. I handed out curved illusion tracts in the line-ups.
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Sunday, Juanita and I were out early to log some steps. We walked thirty-five minutes to MacDonald’s and thirty-five minutes back before the household was too active. Once everyone was up, we went to church with Rebekah and her kids. Deborah and Sasha joined us once they got cooperation from their GPS. After lunch Deborah and her family headed back to Meadow Lake. Monday was a workday for three of them as it is for me. Siri asked if I really wanted my programmed five a.m. alarm on Thanksgiving. Thanks, Siri, for looking out for me but I do.
During the week I received a smarmy form text from a Hyundai salesman who didn’t answer my last e-mail to him in July. Sad. If they’d played their cards right and listened to the clues, I would have been driving a Hyundai Tucson in April or July instead of a Nissan Rogue in September. I’m happy with the Nissan but it is pretty well fungible with the Hyundai equivalent. Either would have been fine. I think the Nissan salesman will do fine in life. The Hyundai guy not so much. There is value in listening, a skill I have not particularly mastered. Apparently, I’m not alone.
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Rebekah and family are off to Fort Mac again this weekend. Juanita and I had a pleasant day off. We went for a walk early this morning and visited while we walked. We attended a church more to our temperament and had lunch with more visiting over our meal. We don’t see as much of each other as normal with my long work hours and bee line for the pillow in the evenings.
I wrote the narratives for both September and October Updates today. Maybe, later in the week, I’ll be able to post the September pictures. That can be a time-consuming job, but brainless so maybe I’ll have enough jam to do it in the evenings.
This is nominally the last week of work for me. There is pressure to get the plant buttoned up and handed back to operations. Time will tell. I’m rooting for us to be done and gone from site. Stay tuned.
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I’m back!
Yup. This was the last week of work. We worked to the last minute plus a few on the Friday. The client was planning to start up on Saturday and wanted to reduce the presence of all non-essential personnel. A few of my co-workers will come back after the plant is started to tie up any lose ends. I’m done for this turnaround, for the year and perhaps for good. Maybe it is time to retire once and for all. I’ll decide next spring.
Saturday, we celebrated Eliana’s birthday. Debbie, Ernie and a couple of cousins from Meadow Lake were in town to help celebrate. First thing, Saturday, Juanita and I went for a walk then she went for a massage. I drove to Sherwood Park and dropped off my boots to the Red Wing store for the cleaning and oiling included with purchase. They’ll get stored away until next spring when I’ll decide to work again or retire permanently.
While the boots were getting oiled I went to the Nissan dealer and bought an extended warranty. With my MBA hat on I’m not sure I can crunch the numbers to make the case as the best financial decision, but we decide first, then we justify. So, never mind. With the cost of engine, transmission and electronic bells and whistles it’s worth it to me.
I met Juanita back at the house and we joined everybody else at West Edmonton mall where the birthday girl and several others were colouring pottery to be fired and picked up at a future date. We watched, I handed out a few curved illusion tracts. Juanita and I went to T&T for some buffet and bubble tea before going back to the pottery place. Birthday cake and dinner ensued.
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Back home in Meadow Lake for the week. Normally I would settle into a slug like existence after a job. This week’s tactic was to set a few deadlines for things that had to be done before we could take a trip. It wasn’t a panacea, but it helped keep me somewhat more mobile and engaged. Did manage to read a couple of trashy mysteries and buy travel insurance for our travel south.
Of course, we did this while working through colds which were winding down except for the coughs by the end of the week. Despite the colds we got our walking. Juanita on our paths. Me, mostly on the grid road with one walk to the river across the highway.
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With being away so much this summer and soon to be away again we had planned to get up and go to our home church and drive to Edmonton after lunch. The colds weren’t that gone. Along about the time we would be getting ready for church we pulled the pin. It will be enough to drive to Edmonton today. We left after lunch, straight from home.
Monday, we headed to BC.
Juanita had a telephone consult scheduled with a local doctor for 11 am on Monday. We stopped in Hinton and waited for an hour to ensure we had cell phone signal. I got some steps in at the local mall. We bought a couple of burgers at noon and gave up waiting before carrying on with the drive.
Around one the phone range. We were on the highway around the town of Jasper. I pulled over and Juanita answered the questions and had her prescription renewed. Back on the familiar road to Kamloops. After supper I did some walking around the parking lot. Then I dropped Juanita back at the hotel while I went to Costo to reach my targeted 10k steps. This may be getting obsessive. What is the goal, here? Health or some number? Go away doubter. Don’t bother me 😉.
Tuesday we drove to Burnaby and visited with my sister Sydney. I checked on stuff that might need repair but found little and lots. The little is the necessary stuff. The lots is stuff that she is happy to live with and if she sells as she is talking of doing the purchaser will gut the place and do a makeover. We had left our schedule open to stay as long as necessary to be od assistance. I booked a date for coffee with a friend in Kits for tomorrow morning and a ferry from Langdale for the afternoon.
Juanita and I walked up to metro town and back. Steps for today done we settled back in to visit as the trick or treaters started showing up. I had a few curved illusion tracts kids’ version and handed those out with treats until the tracts were gone.
And that was October.
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